Attaboy

After a long walk from my hotel I finally arrived to the correct street. I am excited again. Attaboy should be somewhere around here. It is ½ speakeasy bar, so they are hidden a bit, but the still have sign ‘’A/B’’ above the door, so I need to look for it. Ah, here it is. I press the doorbell and in within one minute a waitress opens the door for me and invites me in.

This is one of the best cocktail bar concepts on this planet I’ve ever seen : Simple, almost I would say industrial, design - high ceilings, simple, plain clear white walls, light which is hanging from the ceiling to light up the bar desk for the guests, is made just by 3 pieces of metal and lightbulbs. Bar stools are made from metal too and there are even few wooden tables behind the bar made with dark wood but with no engravings. As simple as it gets. The overall impression is like the place itself would be screaming : ‘’You didn’t get here to feel fancy or to feel posh. You came here to have a cocktail.’’

Everything is focused on mixology here. Yes, bartedners have few books behind the bar, but if You would expect to get menu, You would be wrong. You come here with an idea or at least with a preference of what You like and bartenders here will provide You with the rest of the experience. This may actually discourage You from coming here. The insecurity of what You will actually receive, is not for everybody. After my experience from this bar I can assure You, that this is the best place to overcome this problem. These guys are absolutely killin’ it! I cannot stress enough, how good they are. Being able to work on this level – without the menu – requires a massive amount of knowledge. And these guys got it all. Precision, control, imagination and creativity, skill and the ability to reach to any source of knowledge, across the platforms of different ways of preparation, and combine it together to bring the best possible result on a first try.

I am sitting at the beginning of the bar tonight and bartender Isaac takes care of me. He asked me, what I would like to drink for the first choice and I replied, that I will leave it up to him as long as it will be based on whiskey. But more than old fashioned, I would prefer something like boulevardier. He replied : ,,Gotcha.’’ Like it was nothing. He was back in 2-3 mins, and result was a twisted manhattan. He waited for my first sip to be sure he did a good job and when I confirmed, that it was great, he smiled nodded and went back to work on another cocktails. Now, when I finished my  drink, he is standing in front of me and asking if I will have another one. I definitely want one more, but :

,,I have a recipe on my mind for a very long time. I’ve tried many different variations but it has never been perfect,  there was always something missing.’’ I said,

He replied : ,,Alright, You know what? Here, Write it on a piece of paper, we will have a look on it.’’  And he passed me a pen and a piece of paper. I wrote down :

4cl of Bourbon

2cl of Tripple Sec

1cl of Lime Juice

1cl of sugar syrup

______________

Shake, stirr to the cocktail glass

I gave him this paper and I explained : ,,As I said, I tried many different variations, so this is not the actual recipe, this is just subject to change.’’

He looked at the paper for about 3 seconds and instantly said : ,,Hmpfffff’’ nodded his head again, smiled a little and replied : ,,Yea, I’ve got something.’’

He swaped the position behind his collegue Jesse (who looks identically the same as one bartender form Jerry Thomas Speakeasy bar project in Rome, but it is not him because I asked. I also told him, that if he will ever visit Rome, he must send me a picture of him and his ‘’twin.’’ And I showed him the pic of the guy from Rome. He freaked out : ,,Oh my god, he looks just like me! He has even the same jacket! ) and after few minutes Isaac was back saying :

,,You know, your recipe reminded me one old school cocktail named El Commando. It was similar so I have exchanged the Tripple Sec for Cointreau and before I sprayed the glass with absinthe.’’ And he moved the cocktail closer to me.

I inhaled the smell and took my first sip. I started to laugh. It was perfect. Balanced but strong powerful refreshing sharp taste of this combination didn’t need more than twist of orange peel as a garnish.

He lifted his head and waited for my reaction. I just laughed, nodded my head and said :

,,Thank You.’’

,,You’re welcome bud! Are You going to name it? ’’ He answered. To keep the story and the spirit of this cocktail I will leave it how it is I said – Subject To Change.

Subject To Change

- Spray of absinthe

- 4cl of Bourbon

- 2cl of Tripple Sec

- 1cl of Fresh lime Juice

- 1cl of Sugar syrup

Mixology at its purest form, which is even more interesting, if You are involved in bartending. My personal guess is, that 80% of all guests this night were all bartenders, but please do not take this as an discouragement, that it is ONLY for bartedners. Come on, to go out means more than leaving your house/flat and going to the same place and drinking always the same things. Get up, put some clothes on and leave your comfort zone at your home. Experiment. Explore. For 100%, I promise that You will enjoy. See Ya all in Attaboy!